Airport Overview 

Bauerfield International Airport is the largest airport in Vanuatu and serves as the hub for Vanuatu’s flag carrier airline, Air Vanuatu. The airport runway has the capability and length to accept jets up to the Airbus A330. 

During busy season, the international departure area, which has about 300 seats, is usually crowded when two to three international flights depart simultaneously. Also, since there is only one baggage carrier belt in the International Arrivals area, it becomes very crowded when more than one international flight arrives at the same time. The Arrivals area currently has space for about 200 people. 

Airport Picture 

• Customs Facility 

• Cargo Terminal 

• International Terminal 

• Domestic Terminal 

• Carpark 

• Fuel Facility 

• Air Vanuatu Hangar 

Description and Contacts of Key Companies 

• Airports Vanuatu Limited (AVL): AVL is a public company and is the owner and operator of the Bauerfield International Airport. With an employee base of about 60, AVL’s mandate is to deliver safe, secure and compliant aviation at their airports in Vanuatu. 

• Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV): CAAV is a statutory body under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities which oversees all aspects of Vanuatu’s civil aviation system including regulating access to all airports. CAAV provides regulatory services on aviation security and safety standards in Vanuatu and is also the primary regulator of autonomous flying drone operations within Vanuatu airspace. 

• Vanuatu Terminal Services (VTS): VTS is a subsidiary company of AVL and is a private company incorporated under the Vanuatu Companies Act. VTS services include ground handling, cargo handling and storage, aircraft engineering, freight forwarding, custom brokerage and luggage storage. 

• Air Vanuatu: National airline and operates domestic and international flights to and from Santo International Airport. Services includes ground handling, cargo handling and storage, aircraft engineering, freight forwarding and luggage storage for its flights. 

• Customs and Inland Revenue (Border Control): Execute and enforce relevant laws and regulations to protect the welfare of Vanuatu. Facilitation of cargo clearance and collection of revenue on import duties, VAT and Excise tax at the borders and ports of entry. 

For more information on airport contacts, please see the following link: 4.5 Airport Companies Contact List. 

Information on some aviation service providers can be found at: http://www.azfreight.com/  

Passenger and Cargo Performance Indicator 

Bauerfield International Airport plays a vital role as the capital airport in Port Vila and the core of social and physical exchange in the country. The terminal area was developed by Japan’s grant aid in 1990. The existing terminal building was constructed with a capacity of 240,000 for both international and domestic passengers but the annual passenger volume increased to more than 480,000 in 2019. The number of flights has also increased, and the traffic demand has exceeded the capacity of the terminal facility. 

Performance for 2019 

International flights are operated by Air Vanuatu, Virgin Australia, Fiji Airways, Solomon Airlines, Aircalin and Air Niugini. Small jet planes such as B737 and A320 are deployed and ATR-72 propeller-driven aircrafts are operated in neighbouring Noumea and Nadi. 

Air cargo at Bauerfield International Airport in 2019 totalled 1,125 tons. The cargo terminal building is large enough to store air cargoes and has a refrigerating room and a monitor room for surveillance cameras. All export cargoes are inspected by an X-ray inspection machine, but import cargoes are not inspected. 

Runways 

The existing runway is 2,600m long and 45m wide. There are 7.5m wide shoulders on both sides of the runway; therefore, the total width of the runway with the shoulder is 60m. The widths meet ICAO recommendation for Code E class aircrafts such as A330. The pavement has been completely refurbished and reinforced to the strength that a Code E class aircraft can operate twice a week. 

Helicopter Pad(s) 

There is one helipad parking spot at Bauerfield International Airport shared with fixed-wing parking space. There is ample grass space on the opposite side of the runway for helipad landings, if required. 

Airport Infrastructure Details 

Airport Operating Details 

Customs Guidance 

Vanuatu Customs has officers stationed at the Bauerfield International Airport. The Customs Office at the airport is open from 08:00am to 05:00pm. Their tasks include cargo clearance processing, documentary checks on import and export documents, physical examination of imports and exports, receipting of customs duties and taxes on imported goods and regular reporting to the Manager Customs Revenue. 

Documents required by Customs for clearance of relief items: 

• Tax exemption letter from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) 

• Commercial invoices 

• Freight statements 

• Other charges statements 

• Packing lists 

• Bills of lading 

• Cargo manifest 

• Sanitary or phytosanitary certificate (where required) 

• Airway bills 

The role of raising and lodging customs declarations for the clearance of goods is vested on customs agents licensed by Customs. However, regular importers who hold a valid Broker’s license can do their own clearances. For relief items whereby NDMO has received prior advice and full documentation, NDMO will engage Vanuatu Terminal Services for clearance. 

Important to note that when sending relief items, only relief items are to be included in the package, packing list/cargo manifest, tax exemption letter from NDMO, etc. No personal items are to be included as personal items are not tax exempt. 

Customs have established a standard cargo clearance processing time as follows: 

• Maximum of 3 working days for declaration of goods selected for physical examination – Red Lane 

• Maximum of 2 working days for declaration of goods selected for documentary examination – Yellow Lane 

• 5-10 minutes for declarations directly assessed – Green Lane 

Physical and documentary examinations are conducted by Customs officials when circumstances of imports and exports pose certain level of risks to the government revenue and border security. 

Physical and documentary examinations are done at the point of cargo clearance on red and yellow lanes. Compliance auditing is done post-clearance i.e. after goods are cleared and released from Customs control. 

Contact details: 

For more information on customs in Vanuatu, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information.   

Storage Facilities 

Warehouse size of 1,000m2 contains a bonded warehouse, heated storage, air-conditioned storage, refrigerated storage, deep freeze, mortuary, animal quarantine, livestock handling, storage for dangerous goods, radioactive goods and large or heavy cargo and an express courier centre. 

During TC Pam in 2015, a large 10m x 32m mobile storage unit was constructed in the carpark area. DHL, the cargo logistics handler at the airport, was contracted to manage this temporary warehouse. This was quite successful and should be considered for future large-scale emergencies. 

Airfield Costs 

NAVIGATION CHARGES 

FUEL SERVICES CHARGES 

Fuel services are not readily available for unscheduled flights. It is important for emergency response aircrafts to order fuel supplies several days in advance e.g. for a C-17, the request must be submitted a week in advance of fuel needs. AVL provides 44-gallon drums to store AVGAS and JET A1 fuels. 

Refuelling services for aircrafts are only available in Port Vila and Espiritu Santo. All aircrafts must carry enough fuel to return to these locations to refuel. 

CARGO TERMINAL CHARGES 

AIR-BRIDGE CHARGES 

Passenger air bridge is not used at Bauerfield International Airport. 

Security 

Security issues are low at Bauerfield International Airport. The airport is fenced and has 24-hour security and camera surveillance.  

Inside the international departure area, there is one lane at the airport security inspection area. For security reasons, it is prohibited to take photos, videos or make phone calls at the Customs and airport security inspection area.